Suspended railway



.. 7 jar J 617M061" Masses Z7 M a A s UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

BARNEY J. GAGNIER, OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN.

SUSPENDED RAILWAY senor .IGATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 495,246, dated April. 11, 1893.

Application filed January 17, T893- Serial No. 458,633. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, BARNEY J. .GAGNIER, a

citizen of theUnited States, residin gat Detroit,

in the county of Wayne and State of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improyements in Suspended Railways,of which the following is aspecification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

The invention consists in the peculiar conliar construction, arrangement and combination of the various parts.

In the drawings,Figure 1 is a diagram elevation of my device as applied to crossing a river or ravine, the banks of which are at different elevations. Fig. 2 is an enlarged elevation of the car, and the derrick at one end showing the manner of applying the power. Fig. 3 is an end elevation of the car.

A and B are two cables, stretched taut from the tension bar 0 on a derrick D at one end, to a similar tension bar on a derrick E at the other end, the ends of the cables being anchored beyond the derrick. This gives me two cable tracks extended from the top of a high embankment on one side of the river and from a derrick on that bank to the low bank on the opposite side, the angle of incli nation preferably being such thatthe car will move by gravity in one direction being pulled in the opposite direction by means hereinaf-- ter described.

F is a car of. any suitable structure. This car is provided with a steel supporting frame, consisting of straps G andH, passing around the sides and bottom of the car and extending at each side above the top. These supporting straps extend above the carat difierent heights and near the top are provided with a suitable connecting frame I of any desired construction. v

'J are grooved wheels journaled in the supporting frames above thecar at each side and adapted to run upon the suspended cables. A line connecting these wheels would be upon an inclination to the roof of the car corresponding substantially to the inclination of the cables to the plane of the earths surface, the result being that althoughthe car is suspended from the inclined tracks, the car body will always retain its horizontal relation, white traveling up or down.

K and K are drums journaled in the tops of the derricks and over which the traction cable L is wound,-.the two ends of the traction cable being secured to the opposite ends of the car.

M is the driving drum of the engine, preferably arranged in the base of the derrick D passing from the drum of the engine to a V drum 0 on the shaft P'of the cable drum K.

The parts being thus constructed their operation is asfollows: The operator starting the engine will rotate the driving drum K which will start the driving cable L and propel the car along the supporting cables. 'If it is d'esired at any time to slacken the speed of the car, in its descent, it can be accomplished by having a suitable brake mechanism of any desired construction, such for instance as the brake blocks Q operated from a and which I do not consider necessary to herein fully; show or describe, as any knownbrake mechanism may be adaptedto the device.

I deem it advisable to automatically stop the engine at each end of the travel of the car and any suitable automatic means to accomplish this may be employed, that which I prefer being' the tapering blocks R on the cable, which at the extreme positions of the car will strike the lever R,which lever is connected to the steam valve S of the engine (shown in diagram in Fig. 2) and'close that valve, thereby shutting lofi the steam and stopping the engine and car. One of the blocks R is placed upon the propelling cable in close proximity to the car, while the other 65 or in suitable proximity. 'N isadriving cable the brake being of any desired construction I of the derricks, two separate cables suspended between the tops of 'the derricks, acar having What I claim as my invention is 1. In a suspended railway, the combination of the derricks, two parallel cables suspended between the derricks upon an incline, and a car having its wheels at an angle to the body corresponding to the inclination of the rails,

an endless propelling cable connected to opposite ends of the car, and "a motor for actu-- ating said cable, substantially as described.

2. In a suspendedrailway,'the combination suspending arms passing beneath it at each end and extending above to difierent heights,

of wheels journaled in the top-of said frames in a plane at an angle to the car body, corresponding substantially to the inclination of the cables, of drums journaled in the tops of the derricks, and an endless cable passing over the drums and connected at opposite ends of the car and a motor for actuating'th'e propellingcable, substantially as described.

3. 'In a suspended railway the combination with the suspended rails, a car having wheels journaled in the frame above the roof there- ;of and suspended from said rails, an endless cable passing over rollers at opposite ends of the way, and connected to opposite ends of the car, amotor'at one end of the way for actuating said cable, and means on the cable I for automatically stopping the motor when BARNEY J, GAGNIER.

Witnesses:

- M. B. ODoGHERTY,

N. L. LINDOP. 

